The Allatoona Pass Civil War Interpretation Trail is an Easy 1-1/4 mile hike that starts at Allatoona Pass Battlefield, off I-75 at Old Allatoona Road.

The trail begins on the old Western and Atlantic railroad bed, which ran through the pass during the Civil War.  The trail then turns right onto part of Old Tennessee Road.

According to Wikipedia (“We couldn’t put it on the Internet, if it weren’t true!”):

After the fall of Atlanta, Lt. Gen. John Bell Hood moved the Confederate Army of Tennessee northward to threaten the Western and Atlantic Railroad, Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman’s supply line.  Hood’s corps under Lt. Gen. Alexander P. Stewart attacked a number of minor garrisons and damaged track from October 2 to October 4.

Hood ordered Stewart to send a division to attack the Federal supply base where the railroad ran through a deep gap in the Allatoona Mountain range and then move north to burn the bridge over the Etowah River.

Interpretive signs provide detailed information about the bloody Battle of Allatoona that took place there in 1864.  Reverently visiting this battlefield is the best way to learn about this portion of American history.

Allatoona Pass is a part of Red Top Mountain State Park.

Learn about the Battle of Allatoona Pass